B irm ingham  B otanical Gardens is looking for an experienced and enthusiastic P roject
A dm inistrativ e A ssistant to support the Trustees and the Senior Leadership Team.

The Gardens are in a period of change and have recently secured a Round 2 National Lottery
Heritage Fund (NLHF) grant towards a £19m capital project. The project aims to restore the
historic glasshouses, upgrade site infrastructure and displays, and improve the visitor experience for
all.

Birmingham Botanical Gardens (BBG) are keen to see applications from people of all backgrounds
and communities and are committed to representing the diverse nature of the city.  The Gardens
look forward to receiving applications from all suitable candidates and will conduct inclusive
recruitment processes based on attitude, experience, and qualifications. BBG are also committed to
ensuring that no-one invited to interview should be excluded due to financial circumstances and will
reimburse anyone attending interview (related costs must be supported by receipts) if required.

R ole Title

Contract Ty pe

Team

R eports to

Salary

 Project Administrative Assistant

 0.5 FTE (2.5 days per week)

 Fixed-term for 3.5 years

 Trustees / Senior Leadership Team

 Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Salary £25,552 pro-rata

Date issued/revised

 January 2025

This post is funded by  The National Lottery  Heritage Fund as part of the Gardens ’
Major P roject.

R ole P urpose

This important new post has been created to support the delivery BBG’s £19m major National
Lottery Heritage Fund ‘Growing Our Green Heritage’ project.  The role is essential to the effective
and efficient running of BBG and BBG’s charitable purpose, objectives, and development.

The Project Administrative Assistant will contribute to ensuring BBG develops, implements, and
operates a robust and efficient office administrative system.  This involves the operation and
maintenance of office administration systems and procedures, alongside providing administrative
support to the Chair, the Board of Trustees and its Committees, and BBG Senior Leadership Team
(SLT). The postholder will have an oversight of all administrative operations throughout BBG.
Reporting to and working closely with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the postholder will also

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provide an administrative function to support BBG’s delivery of the ‘Growing Our Green Heritage’
project.

Being a highly motivated individual, the postholder will possess excellent organisational ability,
integrity, and judgement.  Flexibility, adaptability, and the ability to use their own initiative in
resolving problems are also essential.

Job Sum m ary /Key  R esponsibilities

•  Take the lead on developing, implementing and operating BBG’s administrative management

functions, including office, business and project information (including GDPR).

•  Oversee administrative systems across BBG.

•  Proactively review office operations, identify, recommend and implement business process

improvements as agreed with the CEO.

•  Take the lead on developing, implementing and operating administrative support to the

Board of Trustees Chair and Trustee Sub-Committees.

•  Ensure costs are controlled across all areas of office management and administration.

•

•

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Support BBG’s meeting diary to include booking/set up/set down of venues and catering,
welcoming guests, taking minutes etc. ensuring that meetings are serviced in a professional,
timely and accurate manner

Support the team to collect data and feedback for documentation and evaluation.

Identify and prepare material for reports in a timely manner, as requested by the CEO and
SLT.

•  Be the first point of contact for external capital project enquiries via email, phone or in

person, handling all enquiries in a timely, efficient and friendly manner.

•  Support the delivery of capital project Marcomms.

•  Take part in the wider professional community for example by being a part of sector

networks, attending webinars etc.

P rincipal A ccountabilities

•  To work in accordance with BBG’s Values and Behaviours.
•  To adhere to all BBG policies and procedures.
•  Positively contributing to ensuring that the BBG work environment is one that supports

Equalities, Diversity, and Inclusion for all – including, but not restricted to: staff, volunteers,
trainees and apprenticeships, members of the public.

•  Be an enthusiastic and positive ambassador for BBG, enhancing the visitor experience by

contributing to public engagement, interpretation, and marketing.

•  Keep abreast of relevant developments in botanic gardens, heritage and cultural sectors,

maintaining up to date knowledge and understanding.

•  Proactively engage in continuous CPD, seeking out opportunities and positively engaging in

learning and development opportunities in consultation with the CEO.

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This job includes the following haz ards or safety -critical activ ities:

•  Lone Working (infrequent)
•  Work in hot or cold environments
•  Manual handling (infrequent)

P ER SON SP ECIFICA TION

A rea

Essential

Desirable

Knowledge

•  Understanding and enthusiasm for the Charity’s

aims

•  An understanding of the complexity of

organisational management

•  Understanding the requirements of management

and Board reports

•  Awareness of the importance of confidentiality

•

Fluent in MS Office applications

•  Understanding of the not-for-
profit sector, preferably
within a heritage setting

Experience

•  Experience of managing an office, including the
development and management of best practice
systems and processes

•  Experience gained within the
heritage, charity or cultural
sectors

•  Experience of managing costs

•  Experience of providing Secretariat support

•  Experience of working with Trustees and Senior

Managers

•  Experience in supporting work with audiences,

community partners or external stakeholders

•  Experience of establishing priorities and

delivering to deadline

•  Experience of contributing
to communications and
marketing outputs

•  Experience providing

administrative support on a
capital project

Qualifications

•  English and Maths to GCSE/ Level 2 or

equivalent demonstrable skillset

Sk ills

•  Numerate and literate with an analytical

•

approach to work

•  Organised and effective when dealing with
manual and digital systems and processes

•  Results orientated with excellent organisational

and planning skills

•  Ability to process large volumes of data,

rationalise and prioritise what is important

•

Strong attention to detail and an investigative
nature

Skills gained in the not-for-
profit sector, preferably
within a garden, heritage or
cultural setting

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•  Ability to control costs

•  A broad understanding of heritage and

conservation issues, public engagement and
customer-facing activities

•  Ability to represent an organisation clearly and

compellingly to different audiences

•

Integrity

•  Ability to work effectively with colleagues and
support a working environment which attracts
and retains talent

•  Ability to remain calm under pressure

Term s of appointm ent:

•  The Project Administrative Assistant will be required to work in person at Birmingham

Botanical Gardens to deliver office and administrative support.

•  Occasional flexible weekend, bank holiday, and after-hours working may be required in this

role.

What we can offer:

•  Pension through Royal London

•  24hour Employee Assistance Programme through BUPA

•  An extra day of annual leave for your birthday!

•  Company sick pay

•  Free parking is generally available onsite

•  Tea/Coffee and cold drinks provided during the working day

•  Discounts & Tickets: 20% discount in the gift shop; 10% discount in the Cafe; tickets for

immediate family into the Gardens and special offers for one-off events throughout the year

Enquiries:

If y ou hav e any questions, wish to hav e an inform al discussion about the role, or
would lik e access support to apply  for this role in a different way , please em ail
jobs@birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk

T o apply : Please send your CV and covering letter to jobs@birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk
A pplication deadline: 28th September 2025, midday
Interv iews: Likely to be 21st October 2025

Alternative dates for interview will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Online interviews will be considered on request to accommodate specific travel or access needs.

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